


Poor Timing

by Walutahanga



Category: Wayfarer Redemption - Sara Douglass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Incest, Unhappy Ending, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 17:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2589932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walutahanga/pseuds/Walutahanga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Azhure had not chosen Axis that Beltide night? What if she had chosen StarDrifter instead?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poor Timing

**Author's Note:**

> So if you're reading this, I'm going to assume that you know Wayfarer Redemption canon and therefore won't be horrified by all the rampant incest. 
> 
> Actually, scratch that. Be horrified, but know that it wasn't my idea.

When Axis finds Azhure, she is in StarDrifter’s arms, her slim hands gripping the Icaari man’s back, urging him on with gasps and moans. StarDrifter lifts his mouth from hers to meet Axis’ gaze, and the look in his eyes is triumph.

Axis turns away, thwarted desire and malcontent churning like acid in his gut. He strides between trees and twined couples alike, blind to anything but the vision burned into his mind of Azhure and his father.

MorningStar is standing by the Tree, ochre markings smudged, wings curved coyly about her nakedness. Her gaze remains lowered until Axis is before her, then she raises her eyes to his.

“Will you dance with me, Axis?” She says.  

Thoughts of incest and Forbidden are far from Axis’ thoughts. Closer are thoughts of Azhure  in StarDrifter’s arms as Axis lowers his head to whisper his answer against his grandmother’s mouth. He takes her hand and leads her into the shadows of the trees. He lowers her to the soft grass and discovers why Sunsoars crave one another.

* * *

 Hidden, the Prophet watches and frowns. Disastrous! A matter of minutes, and the planning of millenia is knocked askew by poor timing.

He curls his fingers inside his sleeves and weighs the pros and cons of killing StarDrifter and MorningStar. They have played out their parts in breeding the StarSon, and the StarMan has learned all he can from them.

But, no. Killing them now would be too little, too late. The damage is done. The moment for conceiving the StarSon has passed, and the Prophet doesn’t want to alert Axis to his presence. At least not yet. Something may yet be salvaged from this tangle.

Filled with misgivings, Wolfstar remains in the shadows, to wait and watch.

* * *

Little is spoken of Beltide. No one has the courage to gossip within the hearing of a Sunsoar, or anyone reporting to a Sunsoar. 

Still, the outcome is well known. Azhure now shares StarDrifter’s bedroll. 

Axis invites MorningStar to share his bed again, and she does not say no.

* * *

 Azhure’s courses cease and she begins throwing up in the mornings. No one is surprised and the StrikeForce drink a toast to StarDrifter’s virility.

In her quarters, MorningStar scrutinizes her own thickening waistline in the mirror. Traditionally Beltide babies are disposed of, but this child, granted to her in what should be her childless years, must be a gift. A miracle, granted to her by the Star Dance.

She goes to find Axis and share the news. 

* * *

Axis’ army marches to the capital. Bourneheld is dead within the day. 

Queen Faraday and Starman Axis are married a week alter, with all pomp and ceremony. The celebrations last for many days. That same week, in a much smaller, more private ceremony, StarDrifter marries his lover, Azhure. Present is their one year old daughter, WhiteStar.

On his wedding night, Axis’ leaves his sleeping wife’s side and slips down the hall to Morningstar’s chambers.

* * *

Queen Faraday’s pregnancy is treated with utmost care. Her request to replant the forests is rejected by advisers. Much too dangerous, they say, and Axis is inclined to agree. _Later_ , he tells Faraday, and kisses her fingers. She does not see his eyes following his grandmother across the courtroom. No one has yet asked after the paternity of MorningStar’s new son. All know the answer, and no one is game to tell Faraday.

The Avar mutter among themselves, but Axis feels no qualms. They have refused to help him, and he sees no obligation to endanger his Queen on their whim.

* * *

Azhure is the one to kill Artor, and Axis rewards her richly. Between them, lust has now become secondary, channelled into other venues. Instead there is deepening friendship and respect. 

Faraday gives birth to a healthy green-eyed boy. She names him Isfrael. Axis names him Starson, and Tencendor rejoices. As always, the Prophet watches from the shadows.

In her chambers, MorningStar plays with her son, humming softly, whiling away the hours until her lover can join them.

* * *

When Axis storms the Ice Fortress, Gorgrael is holding his Lover by the throat.

“Drop the sceptre,” He asks, tongue slapping. “And I will let her live. She is beautiful and satisfies me like no other. Maybe I will keep her.”

MorningStar gasps and weeps in his grasp, wings bent and broken.

“Axis…” She whispers, but there is no hope in it.

 “You will die, Gorgrael,” Axis says calmly, and as his Lover’s blood sprays about the room, he points the staff.

* * *

Faraday and Axis rule Tencendor wisely and well for many years. Isfrael is a good Starson, growing into his looks and Enchanter powers. He is their only child, however. Their marriage bed is a cold and distant one. Axis dreams of wings and bright Icaari eyes, and Faraday dreams of forests where she runs free and unfettered by her royal duties.

About the court lurks StarSinger, MorningStar’s son. Officially, he is just another Sunsoar, so far down the line of succession so as to never realistically expect to ascend the throne. But whispers of his paternity circulate, much as they had about Axis in Priam’s court. Like his father before him, he is the unacknowledged prince, the forgotten heir. He is a quiet, serious man, seemingly unremarkable for all the scandal surrounding his birth. He trains with the StrikeForce, rising swiftly through the ranks.

On the Isle of Mist and Memory, StarDrifter and Azhure’s children grow to maturity. Soon enough they will enter into the world of politics and power and Sunsoars.

* * *

Forty years later, the Timekeeper Demons devour the world. 


End file.
